Search results

This research aims to look at preferences for retirement, in particular, later retirement, amongst a sample of older employees in the UK in the financial services industry. It seeks to investigate specifically the influence of personal, psychological and psychosocial determinants of preferences for retiring later. Additionally, the study presents a typology of different retirement preferences based on psychological and psychosocial variables.

The data are based on questionnaires from 556 employees of a UK financial services organisation (aged 40‐60) and measures include psychological expectations of retirement (expected adjustment to retirement, attitudes towards leisure and social interaction), psychosocial attitudes (job satisfaction, intrinsic motivation, organisational comment and work commitment) and attitudes towards working beyond normal retirement age. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted and one‐way ANOVA was conducted to identify differences between groups.

The data show very negative attitudes towards working later than the normal retirement age and that expectations of adjustment to retirement were the most significant predictor towards retirement preferences, followed by work commitment. Significant differences in retirement attitudes and intentions were found between different groups of employees.

Some of the practical implications of the work suggest that retirement preferences are shaped only to a moderate degree by psychosocial attitudes. In seeking to retain older workers in the workforce for longer employers should encourage employees to develop strong social relationships at work and allow gradual transitions to ultimate retirement.

The paper looked at preferences for retirement, particularly later retirement, and found that, if employers wish to retain the knowledge, skills and expertise of their employees, then it would seem that they need to devise means of allowing people to achieve some of the more desirable aspects of retirement (greater free time, opportunity to pursue hobbies and interests) at the same time as retaining some of the benefits of work (status, professional interest, income etc.). Phased and flexible retirement initiatives therefore seem to be one of the solutions.

The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature linked to older workers' work orientations and the use of typologies to identify groups of older workers according to their work and retirement patterns.

The approach taken entails reviewing books and academic journals from the area of human resource management, retirement, diversity and pensions. The paper focuses on the industrial sociology literature as the grounding for the construction of older worker typologies.

The review of the typologies reveals that the older workforce is a wide range of workers whose experience in work impacts their attitude toward and planning for retirement. Policy makers cannot, therefore, take a “one size fits all” approach to designing incentives for delaying retirement.

The main limitation of the review is that the studies which have been reviewed are based on both qualitative and quantitative data and have focused on different aspects of later life work, such as early retirement, ill‐health retirements, pensions and staying in work past retirement age.

The review has a number of practical implications for HR practitioners, government, and trade unions who want to develop targeted incentives for older workers to delay retirement.

The originality of the review is that it is unique in bringing together the range of literature on older worker typologies in order to identify overarching themes. The review found that Titmuss' “two nations” provides a useful model for identifying groups of older workers who are in most need of support.

Against a backdrop of legislative and policy changes, this paper assesses the extent to which the over-65 age-group is moving from the margins to the mainstream of UK employment. The purpose of this paper is to fill a gap in HR research and practice which, it is argued, has paid relatively little attention to the over-65s.

The analysis draws on three waves of the Labour Force Survey (LFS) (2001, 2008, 2014), to explore the extent to which organisational, occupational and sectoral marginalisation of the over-65s has changed in the twenty-first century.

The results show that the share of 65-69 year olds working as employees doubled between 2001 and 2014, primarily because long-term established employees worked longer. Overrepresentations of lower-level “Lopaq” occupations reduced, and over-65s became more integrated across occupations and sectors.

More research is needed to understand the factors driving the steady move from the margins to the mainstream (e.g. LFS does not measure pensions), and future research on the older workforce should automatically include workers in this age-group.

The discussion considers the implications for managerial practice, in a context of increasingly age-diverse workforces.

This paper addresses a gap in research into later life working and also demonstrates the ways in which the nature of employment among the over-65s is changing, thereby challenging some of the assumptions about those who work into later life and how they are – or should be managed.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the significance of the work‐to‐retirement transition for academic staff from a life course perspective and the manner in which individuals have managed the transition.

In total, 32 semi‐structured interviews were conducted with academic staff from ten Universities in England. The data are analysed using matrix analysis.

Marked differences in the experience of the work‐to‐retirement transition were found and five groups are identified which characterise the significance of retirement. Clean Breakers view retirement as a welcome release from work. Opportunists and Continuing Scholars use retirement to re‐negotiate the employment relationship. The Reluctant consider retirement as a loss of a valued source of identity and the Avoiders are undecided about retirement plans.

The focus of the study is at the individual level. A more complete understanding of retirement decisions would encompass organisational approaches to retirement issues.

There are practical implications for academics approaching retirement. Not all academics wish to continue to engage in academic work in retirement. For those who do, opportunities are predominantly available to staff with stronger social and professional capital. Continued engagement necessitates personal adaptability and tolerance to ambiguity. Staff who are planning their careers might build such factors into retirement planning.

Organisations need to rethink their responsibilities in managing retirement processes as they face an increasing variety of retirement expectations in the workforce. Given the unfolding de‐institutionalisation of retirement, both individuals and organisations need to re‐negotiate their respective roles.

The paper characterises the diversity of modes of experiencing retirement by academic staff, highlighting differences between the groups.

This paper advances the specification and estimation of econometric models of retirement and saving in two earner families. The complications introduced by the interaction of retirement decisions by husbands and wives have led researchers to adopt a number of simplifications. Our analysis relaxes these restrictions. The model includes three labor market states, full-time work, partial retirement, and full retirement; reverse flows from states of lesser to greater work; an extended choice set created when spouses make independent retirement decisions; heterogeneity in time preference; varying taste parameters for full-time and part-time work; and the possibility of changes in preferences after retirement.

It is common for police services to set mandatory retirement ages at a relatively young level. The aim of this paper is to discuss the reasons for, and workforce planning implications of, mandatory retirement within the context of the London Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

This research is based on in‐depth interviews with seven senior human resource managers and two trade union representatives in the MPS.

Workforce planning issues shaped managers' perceptions of the need for a mandatory retirement age of 60 for police constables. On the one hand, they were under pressure to increase the number of constables, and the possibility of extending working life was seen as one means to that end. On the other, it was feared that the retention of older police officers would lead to career blockages for younger police constables rising through the ranks.

Owing to labour and skills shortages, MPS managers were looking for ways to encourage older police officers to delay retirement. Innovative practices, such as offering flexible working hours, mentoring roles and pension incentives as alternatives to retirement were identified.

The qualitative data put the discussion of mandatory retirement in police services within the context of workforce planning rather than capability. For police authorities that maintain mandatory retirement policies, raising or abolishing retirement age would change the workforce planning paradigm in which police officers are recruited from, and retire at, young ages.

It is common for police services to set mandatory retirement ages at relatively young ages. This paper seeks to discuss the reasons for, and workforce planning implications of, mandatory retirement within the context of the London Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

In‐depth interviews were carried out with seven senior human resource managers and two trade union representatives in the MPS.

Workforce planning issues shaped managers' perceptions on the need for a mandatory retirement age of 60 for police constables. On the one hand, they were under pressure to increase the number of constables, and the possibility of extending working life was seen as one means to that end. On the other, it was feared that the retention of older police officers would lead to career blockages for younger police constables rising through the ranks.

Owing to labour and skills shortages, MPS managers were looking for ways to encourage older police officers to delay retirement. Innovative practices, such as offering flexible working hours, mentoring roles and pension incentives as alternatives to retirement were identified.

The qualitative data put the discussion of mandatory retirement in police services within the context of workforce planning rather than capability. For police authorities that maintain mandatory retirement policies, raising or abolishing retirement age would change the workforce planning paradigm in which police officers are recruited from, and retire at, young ages.

States that there was a time when nobody mentioned pensions unless someone had retired, but now pensions make headlines that affect people of all ages. Concludes that the UK state pension is steadily shrinking, and regarding occupational schemes (defined benefit schemes) many employers are closing their final salary pension schemes.

This paper seeks to provide librarians and library administrators with the necessary information to begin thinking about and perhaps preparing for the large number of retirements that are projected to take place in the library profession over the coming decade.

The paper broadens the library literature related to the retention and recruitment of older employees with concepts derived from the relevant demographic, management, medical and personnel literature.

The profession has not given this problem the time and research attention that is required to successfully manage through the projected “labor gap”. Librarians possess transferable skills and work habits that would be welcomed by corporations attempting to cope with their own labor shortages that are projected to cut across industry and occupational classes over the next decade. Therefore, library administrators should consider developing satisfactory bridge employment options that retain and attract the older or retired library employee.

The preponderance of the literature consulted for this article was assembled from sources outside of the field of library management. Therefore, library administrators who would use the information contained in this paper to develop viable bridge employment options, are cautioned to develop programs that reflect the unique operational realities of the library they work for and the post‐retirement needs of their employees.

The paper provides a useful review of the library and management literature related to the establishment of bridge employment options in the library environment. The paper concludes by introducing the importance of utilizing mathematical and statistical modeling techniques to determine, where possible, the economic value of the services to the stakeholders served. This information is presented with the objective of increasing awareness, debate and additional research in this neglected but critically important area of “value analysis” and its possible impact on the development of sustainable, long‐term solutions to the problems associated with recruitment and retention.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effect of job satisfaction on the intended retirement age of self‐employed and organisationally‐employed white‐collar professionals. The analysis also examines potential boundary conditions imposed by other domains of life for the applicability of this relationship.

The study employs ordered probit regressions to analyse primary survey data comprising 1,262 Finnish white‐collar professionals.

The econometric results suggest that job satisfaction is a significant determinant of the intention to retire later and thus prolong a career. The analysis does not find a difference in the effect of job satisfaction between salary earners and self‐employed individuals. However, the analysis finds that other domains of life influence how job satisfaction affects retirement‐age intentions, and that these influences differ between self‐employed and salaried respondents.

The findings imply that developing measures to improve the job satisfaction of (highly educated) older workers is an alternative to the widely debated regulatory approach of prolonging working careers by increasing the statutory retirement age. The principal limitation is the focus on white‐collar professionals in a single country.

This is the first empirical comparison of the effect of job satisfaction on the intended retirement age between salary earners and self‐employed individuals. It is also the first examination of the effect of job satisfaction on retirement intentions or behaviour that accounts for the effects of other domains of life satisfaction.